Trieste (March 2016) – MWBrazilBlog

As a frontier city between Italy and the regions of the Austro-Hungarian empire (now Slovenia and Austria), the city of Trieste is a fascinating mix of languages and cultures. It has four official languages — Italian, Slovenian, Friulian (Eastern Laldino) and German.

It has been occupied by the Romans, the Habsburgs, Mussolini’s Fascist regime, and a mixed regime of allied forces after World War II. It reverted to Italy in 1954 as the Allied occupation withdrew. Officially it is the capital of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.

It is located on the sea and is a major port. In the photo below the sea below has extensive oyster beds that seem to be tended by boats like the one below.

Not far from the view above is Miramar Castle which was built by Maximilian, brother of Ferdinand, Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian empire. He was commander of the navy and built this seaside complex as an appropriate residence for his status, interests in the sea, and culture.

It was completed in 1860, but he lived there only a few years before receiving an appointment as the Habsburg emperor of Mexico. He took the office n 1864 but it happened that the Mexicans did not want a European emperor. In the 1867 rebellion the regime was overthrown and Maximilian killed.

As it happens, I visited the ramparts of the castle in Mexico City where the resistance fighters made a stand and a number of cadets lost their lives in the fight. This was a major event in Mexican history, but in the slightly smarmy audio tour of Miramar there is scarcely mention of this (amid the lavish praise for his culture and lifestyle).

His wife Carla lived on for decades thereafter, but the empire in the New World was lost. The rest of the empire was lost and divided when the Habsburgs found themselves in World War I some some 50 years later.In fact as history buffs will remember, the triggering event of WWI was the assassination of the Habsburg Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914.

Maximilian’s Mexican empire was never fully established. It was not recognized by the U.S., was supported provisionally by French forces, and never conquered the resistance forces of Benito Juarez. After the American Civil War the United States supported Juarez more strongly, the French troops withdrew, and Maximilian was left exposed.

IMG_5545-1 — Miramar, last residence of Maximilian, younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph.

IMG_5594-1 — Central staircase in Miramar, residence of Habsburg archduke Maximilian. He lived here from its completion in 1860 until his appointment as emperor of Mexico in 1864. The castle is a museum of the last days of the empire, both its culture and its distance from developments in Europe and the New World.

A well-known Trieste cafe/restaurant with Austrian-style dishes (e.g., diverse meats, horseradish, gallons of beer).

IMG_5644-1 — James Joyce lived in Trieste for about a dozen years after 1904. He is memorialized in this statue. Various sources delight in recounting which of his works were written or drafted here.

IMG_5646-1 — Historic buildings line the Trieste canal which leads from the center of town to the sea off to the right.

IMG_5652-1 — The central canal in Trieste, leading to the sea off to the right. At upper left is the Greek Orthodox Church, one of many religions represented in Trieste’s complex culture. One of Europe’s largest synagogues is also here in Trieste.

Waiting for coffee, these empire-style mirrors were irresistible.

IMG_5671-1 — Every Trieste cafe advertises itself as “classic” or “iconic.” Most do have good coffee and ambience.

IMG_5680-1 — Trieste’s central plaza (Piazza Unitá) is one of the largest in the world (in Trieste they maintain it is the largest, though why it should be so in a city of 200,000 is unclear). In March there is room for everybody to sit about undisturbed.